"I endorsed Chris Dodd. I endorsed Chris Dodd because he's a friend. He was a Peace Corps volunteer when I was a Peace Corps volunteer. And I said, "Chris, I'll endorse you because you're not going to win and as long as you keep talking about the Peace Corps," because I'm trying to get a lot more money to increase the size of the Peace Corps."

Hollister - Democrat Sam Farr, San Benito County's longtime congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, stopped by Hollister on Wednesday in the middle of a tour of his district, which also includes Monterey County and parts of Santa Cruz County.

The Free Lance spoke to Farr about health care, the War in Iraq and the upcoming presidential race.

Farr has been taking flak from some local doctors for a recently passed medical bill that could leave San Benito County with lower Medicare payments than surrounding counties. But Farr said that without his legislation, local Medicare payments actually fall. And he added that his efforts to pressure the federal government to incorporate new data into its Medicare calculations could actually boost San Benito's reimbursements.

The Free Lance: One of the issues that we've written about is the Medicare bill that you were involved with.

Sam Farr: My language is San Benito's best hope not to have slippage.

FL: I think the concern here, though, is outside the numbers and everything -

Farr: The concern here, and rightfully so, is not that Medicare payments aren't as high as they want them to be; it's that Blue Cross screwed this county and they have no other option. You can't go to another insurer. Blue Cross owns San Benito County.

The bottom line here is, all we're trying to do is get the federal government to live up to their own rules. And if they live up to their own rules under the data they have, this old data, as a fallout it will help Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. If they live by their own rules and use this new data that's been collected, it will help San Benito County. It will help all three.

FL: And by help, are you saying best-case scenario, we would stay the same?

Farr: Best-case scenario, you'll go up.

FL: Regardless of a formula or regardless population numbers, you just see the raw fact that reimbursement rates could go up around us while ours stay flat, so the natural reaction is, we're screwed.

Farr: Both sides are right. But there's no way to fix it. It's sort of like health care costs. The health care stuff is a mess. I think that this is all part and parcel of a huge picture that America needs to get engaged in politically is, how do you have a universal health care system?

We've delegated all of the management of health care to insurance companies. We've not dealt with the cost of that, and it's huge. It's going to bankrupt this country. So the only way you can have universal health care is to cut this escalating cost and provide broader coverage. Broader coverage alone, which everybody wants, is going to cost too much. What we have to do is go in and cut out the middle man. The middle man is the insurance companies.

FL: What has to happen for universal health care to become a reality?

Farr: The anti-single payer and government role in this is to call it socialized medicine. That sticks with people. Hillary Clinton tried to bring all parties in play and come up with all the different options. She got shot down by everybody.

But, I think, almost universally, the medical providers have come around and moved to the Democratic message. I think they're beginning to see that conservative politics is lined up with insurance and big business, not the providers.

FL: It's almost like a swear word in the Republican party, when you talk about universal health care.

Farr: That is it. How do you spin this?

I think this is going to be the battle for the president of the United States and I think how we as an individual, as a voter, decide on that will be whether you elect a Democrat or a Republican.

FL: Focusing over to the presidential race, are there any candidates that you're going to be endorsing?

Farr: I endorsed Chris Dodd. I endorsed Chris Dodd because he's a friend. He was a Peace Corps volunteer when I was a Peace Corps volunteer. And I said, "Chris, I'll endorse you because you're not going to win and as long as you keep talking about the Peace Corps," because I'm trying to get a lot more money to increase the size of the Peace Corps.

Anna Eshoo has endorsed Chris Dodd. It's like politics and family, you help your friends.

FL: Moving to another big issue, I know you're for withdrawal from Iraq, but given the current political reality, what do you see happening?

Farr: My instinct says troops will start coming home in December. We did not put any money for the Iraq War or Afghan War in the defense budget. The president's got to come back and ask for more money just for that. In the meantime, we write conditionalities into it, because we have to give him money.

I think the administration will start pulling out troops. Because they're going to get the Petraeus report. It's not going to be good. You don't even have to read between the lines.

FL: So our staying there is just making it worse?

Farr: I think our staying there isn't motivating anybody to do anything.

Paul Theroux: Peace Corps WriterPaul Theroux began by writing about the life he knew in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His first first three novels are set in Africa and two of his later novels recast his Peace Corps tour as fiction. Read about how Theroux involved himself with rebel politicians, was expelled from Malawi, and how the Peace Corps tried to ruin him financially in John Coyne's analysis and appreciation of one of the greatest American writers of his generation (who also happens to be an RPCV).

Dodd issues call for National ServiceStanding on the steps of the Nashua City Hall where JFK kicked off his campaign in 1960, Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd issued a call for National Service. "Like thousands of others, I heard President Kennedy's words and a short time later joined the Peace Corps." Dodd said his goal is to see 40 million people volunteering in some form or another by 2020. "We have an appetite for service. We like to be asked to roll up our sleeves and make a contribution," he said. "We haven't been asked in a long time."

Public diplomacy rests on sound public policyWhen President Kennedy spoke of "a long twilight struggle," and challenged the country to "ask not," he signaled that the Cold War was the challenge and framework defining US foreign policy. The current challenge is not a struggle against a totalitarian foe. It is not a battle against an enemy called "Islamofascism." From these false assumptions flow false choices, including the false choice between law enforcement and war. Instead, law enforcement and military force both must be essential instruments, along with diplomacy, including public diplomacy. But public diplomacy rests on policy, and to begin with, the policy must be sound. Read more.

Ambassador revokes clearance for PC DirectorA post made on PCOL from volunteers in Tanzania alleges that Ambassador Retzer has acted improperly in revoking the country clearance of Country Director Christine Djondo. A statement from Peace Corps' Press Office says that the Peace Corps strongly disagrees with the ambassador’s decision. On June 8 the White House announced that Retzer is being replaced as Ambassador. Latest: Senator Dodd has placed a hold on Mark Green's nomination to be Ambassador to Tanzania.

Peace Corps FunniesA PCV writing home? Our editor hard at work? Take a look at our Peace Corps Funnies and Peace Corps Cartoons and see why Peace Corps Volunteers say that sometimes a touch of levity can be one of the best ways of dealing with frustrations in the field. Read what RPCVs say about the lighter side of life in the Peace Corps and see why irreverent observations can often contain more than a grain of truth. We'll supply the photos. You supply the captions.

PCOL serves half millionPCOL's readership for April exceeded 525,000 visitors - a 50% increase over last year. This year also saw the advent of a new web site: Peace Corps News that together with the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps serve 17,000 RPCVs, Staff, and Friends of the Peace Corps every day. Thanks for making PCOL your source of news for the Peace Corps community. Read more.

Suspect confesses in murder of PCVSearch parties in the Philippines discovered the body of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 17. Director Tschetter expressed his sorrow at learning the news. “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. Latest: Suspect Juan Duntugan admits to killing Campbell. Leave your thoughts and condolences .

Warren Wiggins: Architect of the Peace CorpsWarren Wiggins, who died at 84 on April 13, became one of the architects of the Peace Corps in 1961 when his paper, "A Towering Task," landed in the lap of Sargent Shriver, just as Shriver was trying to figure out how to turn the Peace Corps into a working federal department. Shriver was electrified by the treatise, which urged the agency to act boldly. Read Mr. Wiggins' obituary and biography, take an opportunity to read the original document that shaped the Peace Corps' mission, and read John Coyne's special issue commemorating "A Towering Task."

He served with honorOne year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

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Story Source: Hollister Free Lance

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Farr; Figures; COS - Dominican Republic; Politics; Congress; Election2008 - Dodd

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